Aurangzeb, Rupee, Mint: Bhakkar. AH 1078 RY 10. KM#302.01

[asm]

I had been looking for a coin of Bhakkar as I did not have any in my collection. When I saw this one, I was, at first not sure of the mint and the other features too were different from the normal coins.

The name of the ruler normally written as Aurangzeb Alamgir, is written as Alamgir Aurangzeb. The RY is on the Obverse while the AH date is on the reverse. The reverse does not appear to have the normal legend.

I saw a very similar looking coin here but there seem to be a few variations in the die.

SCWC, as usual is not of much help. Coins of this mint are numbered KM#302. Two varieties have been mentioned. KM#300.2 which is said to be rare and is mentioned for only one date - RY16. The others are mentioned at KM#300.1 where the prices seem to suggest / indicate that the coins are not difficult to find.

On Zeno, I saw 7 coins and there seem to be fairly different legends on the coins........



Amit

[Oesho]

The above type is KM#302.1 and the known date range (according to KM) is AH1071/Ry.3 to AH1078/Ry.10
The next issue is listed in KM as #300.20 with a known date range from AH1083/16 to AH1118/Ry.5
Your coin is identical to the coin on ZENO #47537. It is, I think, the most rare type of this mint. The couplet reads (from bottom to top):
(obv.) shah aurangzeb alamgir /
(rev.) zad dar jahan chu badr munir. Below: zarb bhakkar. The mint usually doesn’t form a part of the couplet.
BTW you need to swap the images of obv. and rev.
As for as prices, KM is not a trustworthy guide either. I obtained my first coin of this mint AH1091/Ry.24 (KM#300.20; ZENO #30647) in March 1996 and
AH1072/Ry.4 (KM#302.1; ZENO #30646) in Oct. 1996 both for £ 20 each, from Spinks.
The coin similar to yours AH1078/Ry.10 (KM#303.1; ZENO #47537) I obtained in Sept. 2007 from Indus Coins for £ 75. Just to give an idea.

[saro]

May I add a complementary information..
As previously said, coins of this mint exist with the ruler's name written from top to bottom and from bottom to top (as yours), these last are scarcer; in addition, we find on late issues of these rupees the mintname written "Bhakhar" instead of "Bhakkar", as shown by C.J Brown (Lucknow Museum) under n°2755 dated 1091AH / yr.27. The coin ZENO #30647 in Oesho collection is of this type.

C.J. Brown said under mint notes :"Some time between 1083 -1091 AH, the form "Bhakhar" is substituted and maintained till the end of the series".

It is to notice that issues of Nadir Shah and further  Durrani rulers, after that the fort had fallen in their hands are all minted with the mintname written as "Bhakhar".